


Measure of Friendship

by tocourtdisaster



Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: Established Relationship, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-29
Updated: 2010-07-29
Packaged: 2017-10-10 20:43:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/104065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tocourtdisaster/pseuds/tocourtdisaster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How to build a lifelong friendship in five easy steps as exemplified by Leonard McCoy and Nyota Uhura.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Measure of Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> This started off as an attempt to work through the block I hit in my Big Bang, but it grew into an actual story at some point and took way longer to write than I expected. All my knowledge of the Vulcan language comes from [Memory Alpha](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Portal:Main) and [The Vulcan Language Dictionary](http://www.starbase-10.de/vld/); any and all mistakes are my own. Hover over Vulcan text for translation.

Their weekly dinners don't start off as dinners nor do they originally occur weekly, but that's what their get-togethers eventually evolve into, much to the chagrin of both Jim and Spock, though you'd never hear Spock say anything derogatory about any of Nyota's relationships, let alone her friendship with Leonard.

It's actually Jim who formally introduces them and that's something he bemoans whenever he gets the chance.

"I introduce you to a seriously hot girl who, for some reason, is immune to my charms and what do you do, Bones?" Jim will say, usually while hanging over Leonard's shoulder, sometimes drunk but usually sober. "You _become friends_ with her." This is usually said in a tone of deepest loathing, but with a smile that makes it hard for anyone who doesn't know Jim well to see that he's actually confused.

"Maybe you would've had better luck with her if you referred to her as a woman and not a girl," Leonard will sometimes say. Other times, he'll say, "Not every relationship between a man and a woman has to be sexual, jackass." One time, he says, "Maybe I was just saving myself for you." This earns him a genuine guffaw and sloppy kiss from Jim that leads to them attempting to wrestle it out that leads to the most laughter during sex Leonard's ever heard.

Anyway.

It starts in a bar.

What a surprise.

They've only been in San Francisco for a month, but Jim's already taken to calling him 'Bones' and Leonard has given up trying to dissuade the kid from using the name. He'd get more accomplished by beating his head against a brick wall than trying to argue with Jim Kirk and since he's never really been a fan of self-inflicted injuries he does something he very rarely does: he just lets it go.

Leonard's been trying not to drink so much, but he's had an absolute shit-tastic day, between classes in basic medicine he's more qualified than the instructors to teach and idiot cadets coming into the infirmary thinking they know more than he does because they know how to look up their symptoms on the 'nets. That's why he doesn't even bother to put up a token resistance when Jim saunters into his room and says, "Bones! We're going to the bar tonight and I am not taking no for an answer." Leonard just grunts and grabs a clean shirt out of the basket at the foot of his bed.

And that's how he finds himself in a bar he wouldn't have frequented even as an undergrad, let alone a post-grad who already has multiple degrees to his name. There's too much neon and power punk has never been his thing and _shit_, he's pretty sure he's a _decade_ older than some of these kids and that just makes him feel like a dirty old man despite the fact he hasn't even hit thirty yet and isn't even _trying_ to check them out, but dammit, some of these kids should really put on some clothes.

He loses Jim almost as soon as they're through the door and he thinks about leaving and finding somewhere a little quieter to do his drinking, but, hell, he's here now and there's booze and maybe by staying here he can get Jim to shut up about how he's a hermit with no social skills.

He pushes into the crowd, trying his best not to be rude and just shove some of the littler ones out of his way as he works his way over to the bar. It takes a little effort, but he eventually makes it there relatively unmolested.

(Only one woman with electric green hair makes a grab for his ass, but Jim routinely gets further into Leonard's personal space than that, so he's not too bothered by it.)

Miraculously, there's an empty stool at the bar. Leonard slides onto it before anyone else has the chance to steal it away and orders bourbon, straight up, before looking at his new neighbors. There's an Andorian to his right, her white hair streaked with dark blue that does nothing but compliment all of that lovely blue skin on display, her antennae twitching in time to the music. On his left is a human, her dark hair long and unbound, some sort of mixed drink in hand. She's swaying just a bit on her stool, but Leonard would wager it's caused less by alcohol and more by love of music, no matter how horrible.

His drink shows up then and he takes a sip, holding the liquor on his tongue for a few seconds, savoring the taste, before he swallows, breathing through his nose at the familiar burn. He's starting to feel more relaxed already and he's barely even gotten started; maybe he'll actually come out of this evening with his credit account intact.

The woman next to him laughs and Leonard turns toward her, curious as to what's so funny, only to find her watching him. He narrows his eyes and quirks an eyebrow and the woman just laughs harder. It's not the prettiest or most girlish laugh he's ever heard, but it makes him smile because it's genuine and that's not something Leonard hears too often.

"A man might take offense at a pretty lady laughing at him like that," he says, resting his elbows on the bar.

"I'm sorry," she says, turning on her stool to face him fully. She's still smiling and Leonard finds himself smiling back at her. "I just haven't seen anyone enjoy a drink so much in a while."

Leonard's trying to think of something to say to that when Jim Kirk, who apparently has _the worst_ timing in the universe, decides to throw himself over Leonard's back, his chin digging into Leonard's left shoulder.

"Bones!" he shouts right into Leonard's ear, his arms wrapping around Leonard's chest. "I see you've met the lovely Cadet Uhura already."

"Kirk," the woman – Uhura – says, her voice absolutely dripping with disdain.

_Huh,_ Leonard thinks. _A woman who doesn't fawn over Jim. Will wonders never cease?_

Leonard does his best to ignore Jim, which is pretty difficult when the man is practically plastered against his back. He holds a hand out towards Uhura and say, "Doctor Leonard McCoy. It's pleasure to meet you, Miss Uhura." Uhura's palm is damp from the condensation on her glass, but her grip is firm and Leonard finds himself even more impressed with this woman than he was just a moment ago.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself to my friend?" Jim asks Uhura and even without looking, Leonard's certain Jim's sporting that smarmy grin of his that seems to always get him whatever girl he unleashes it on.

Uhura gives Jim a look that Leonard interprets as _Oh, you sad, sad, little man_ and says, "You already took care of that for me, Kirk. It would be redundant to introduce myself."

"But what about giving Bones here your first name?" Jim says and Leonard suddenly remembers the story Jim spun for him about his quest for a girl's first name that got him into a fight that led to Captain Pike recruiting him for Starfleet. Leonard had thought Jim was just making it all up, but he realizes now that at least part of it's true; this woman, this beautiful Uhura, must be that same girl.

"It's a lady's prerogative to share her name with whomever she likes," Leonard says before Uhura can launch into whatever she's been gearing up to say these past few second. "If Miss Uhura would rather not share her given name, then who are we to argue?"

Uhura grins at him prettily with lots of very straight, very white teeth on display while Jim pulls away and gapes at Leonard, his mouth opening and closing like he's trying to speak, but can't force out the words.

That's how it starts and that's how it would have ended if not for Starfleet's requirement that all cadets speak at least two languages fluently.

Leonard has a background in Latin that came standard with his medical degree and he can curse in half a dozen Terran languages, but neither of those count for jack with Starfleet which is why Len finds himself in Intermediate Vulcan his second semester at the Academy.

(In order to qualify for honors in undergrad, he'd had to take four semesters of a non-Terran language and he apparently remembered enough to test out of the introductory course when he took the Starfleet entrance exams in a half-drunk stupor of why the hell not.)

He walks into the small auditorium just ahead of the Lieutenant Commander teaching the class and slips into an aisle seat about half a dozen rows back, glad to finally be off his feet. He's used to being on his feet all the time, but he's still trying to break in his boots and curses Jim Kirk for ruining his old pair by vomiting into them after stumbling into Leonard's room completely sloshed out of his mind very, very early Christmas morning.

The instructor steps up to the podium at the front of the room and activates the screen that covers the entire wall behind him before folding his hands together behind his back. "I am Lieutenant Commander Spock," he says, enunciating very clearly and Leonard's impressed at the man's lack of accent. His instructor at Ole Miss hadn't managed to speak unaccented Standard and she'd been on Earth for almost a hundred years. "As this is an intermediate level language course, this will be the only time a language that is not Vulcan will be spoken. The syllabus for this course is available in your Fleetnet account and should be downloaded and studied before we meet again."

He pauses and shifts, bringing his hands around to type at the PADD embedded in the podium and a copy of the syllabus appears on the screen behind him. Of course the entire thing is in Vulcan because Leonard's life could never be easy.

"If you encounter any difficulties with this course's content, please contact either myself or Cadet Uhura, an advanced linguistics student who has agreed to act as teacher's assistant for this course," Spock says, gesturing very slightly with his left hand.

Leonard hadn't noticed Uhura earlier, though he must have walked right by her. He notices her now, since she's standing in front her desk in the first row, turned around to face the rest of the class.

"Cadet Uhura is well-versed in both spoken and written Vulcan," Spock continues as Uhura retakes her seat. "Any questions she is unable to answer are more advanced than what will be covered this term. Are there any questions?"

Spock pauses, but no one speaks up, though Leonard hears chairs creaking as cadets shift in their seats. After a moment, Spock speaks again, this time in Vulcan. Leonard sighs and sets his PADD to record before pulling up a blank document and beginning to take notes.

Spock's class isn't necessarily hard, but Vulcan is a challenging language and Spock doesn't accept mediocrity when his students are capable of more. Leonard finds himself studying for Spock's class more than any other, pushing himself to be better than his classmates, which is how he finds himself with a standing appointment with Uhura to review his work.

"I don't know why you insist on meeting with me every week, Leonard," she says about halfway through the semester. "You're doing very well."

"I still can't write in Vulcan worth a damn," Leonard says, well aware that he's grousing, but unable to stop himself. The weather's finally nice, so they're sitting on a bench in front of Cochrane Hall instead of sequestered in the library, but Leonard was already working on a Jim Kirk-induced headache before he met with Uhura and the bright sunlight isn't helping any.

"You're able to read it, though, which is more than I can say for most of your classmates," Uhura says, setting her PADD down on the bench between them. "If I'm not mistaken, you've even begun working on a translation of Ancient Vulcan script for your final paper, which is well beyond what Commander Spock is expecting in an intermediate level course."

"You know you're not mistaken, Uhura," Leonard says, feeling his cheeks warm, either in embarrassment or because he got caught out, he's not sure which. "And it's not like I'm attempting to translate something crazy that's never been done before. The Kir'Shara's surface writings have been translated multiple times already."

"So why are you doing it?" Uhura asks, turning her body towards him and crossing her ankles, her hands resting in her lap, making her look for all the world like some illustration from a Miss Manners book. She looks genuinely interested in his answer, though, which is the whole reason why he answers honestly instead of just tossing her a line.

"I've read portions of the Kir'Shara in translation," he says, speaking slowly, trying to organize his thoughts. "I want to know what the pyramid says, what it really says. Maybe that'll help me better understand the rest of the text."

Uhura nods, then picks her PADD back up. "I think I know what your problem with Vulcan script is," she says, scooting a little closer and tilting her PADD so Leonard can see the display and they go back to trying to work through Leonard's difficulty writing in Vulcan.

Leonard ends up finishing the course at the top of his class. His final paper on the subtle nuances in the exterior writings on the Kir'Shara earns him a near perfect score and the recommendation that he polish and submit the paper for publication in the Academy's xenolinguistic journal.

That summer finds Leonard in an advanced Vulcan seminar and by the time he starts his second year at the Academy, he's comfortable speaking and reading Vulcan and he's working on being comfortable writing it. He'll never be a great linguist, but he knows if the need ever arises and he's stuck on Vulcan without a UT, he'll be able to function pretty normally.

Even though he's fulfilled his language requirement, Leonard continues to take courses in Vulcan to keep his skills razor sharp. He sees Uhura around campus occasionally and makes a point to say "Tonk'peh" whenever their paths cross.

He's actually in Conversational Vulcan the day after Jim beats the _Maru_ simulation when his PADD beeps at him that the Admiralty have called a disciplinary hearing. The message doesn't give any more details than that, but Leonard knows, he _knows_ that this is about Jim and his need to be the best at everything. He told Jim that this would bite him in the ass the first time he floated the idea of hacking the sim; _I told you so_ is just gonna be the start when Leonard finally gets his hands on Jim.

He never does get to say it, though, because everything goes straight to hell in a hand basket after that and Leonard's never been more glad to speak Vulcan than he is when the Elders are escorted into Sickbay, some of them so far into shock they don't respond to anything but their mother tongue. He calls in a handful of linguists to translate and keeps the worst-off as his own patients.

Uhura stops by after they accomplish the impossible and destroy the _Narada_. Her eyes are red and it's obvious she's been crying, but he doesn't say anything about that. He just ushers her into his office and sits her down in the visitor's chair because all the biobed are full before he pulls out his tricorder.

"When did you hit your head?" he asks when the results come up, displaying a minor concussion along with elevated hormone levels.

&gt;"When the inertial dampeners failed after Mister Scott detonated the warp cores," she answers, slouching in her seat in a way Leonard's never seen before. She always has impeccable posture that makes Leonard think that if she doesn't dance now, she at least used to.

"That was hours ago," Leonard says and he knows his tone is too sharp, but he's tired and too wired from stims to sleep.

"I've been busy." Uhura's tone is just as sharp and Leonard sighs, perching on the desk in front of her. Uhura pinches the bridge of her nose and says in a much more even tone, "I'm sorry for snapping at you, Leonard. It was uncalled for."

Leonard reaches out and rests his hand on one slender shoulder. "No apology necessary, Uhura. We're all a little high strung right now."

Uhura shakes her head, maybe to refute his statement or maybe simply to stay awake. "I never told you my first name," she says, a complete non sequitur.

"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to," Leonard says, pulling his hand back and folding his arms across his chest.

"You're my friend, Leonard; you deserve to know my name, if nothing else." Leonard nods, knowing that it's not worth it to fight. "It's Nyota."

"Nyota," Leonard says, feeling the letters rolling over his tongue. "It's beautiful."

"Mmm, thanks," she says through a yawn, her eyes remaining closed even after she's done.

She's practically asleep in her seat now, so Leonard stands and pulls her to her feet, letting her lean against his side while he guides her towards the closest medicine cabinet. He searches through the rows of vials one-handed until he finds what he's looking for. Loading the hypo is a little awkward, but he manages and presses it as gently as he can to Nyota's long, graceful neck.

"What's that?" she asks, her eyes barely open.

"Just something for your head," Leonard answers, setting the hypo down on the closest instrument tray. "It's gonna make you sleepy, though."

"That's okay. I'm off duty for now," she says, her eyes drifting shut and her head coming to rest against Leonard's chest.

"I'll walk you to your quarters." Leonard wraps an arm around her waist and steers her towards the door, marveling at how tiny she is. Nyota's got such confidence that she tends to seem larger than life sometimes.

By the time they reach Nyota's quarters, she's completely gone, so Leonard scoops her up before crossing the room to lay her down gently on her bed. She curls up on her side and Leonard removes her boots before covering her with a blanket he finds in her closet. He smoothes her hair away from her face and says, "Sleep well, Nyota," before making his way back to Sickbay.

Things get crazy again after that, what with their heroic return to Earth and all. Leonard's kept busy with transferring his patients' care to doctors at Starfleet Medical and the Vulcan consulate and he hardly sees anyone not involved in those processes, let alone Nyota or even Jim. After that are debriefings and demerits (because, apparently, the fact that Jim Kirk ended up saving the entire galaxy doesn't negate the fact that Leonard broke regulations to get him on board _Enterprise_ and that's going on his permanent record) and, eventually, commissioning ceremonies.

Jim drags him out to celebrate after he's officially given _Enterprise_, but Leonard's able to steer him away from the typical cadet bars and towards a relatively quiet pub near the wharf. While Jim wanders off to get them drinks, Leonard surveys the room and smiles when he sees Nyota waving and trying to get his attention.

"Nyota," he says when he reaches her, bending over slightly to let her buss his cheek. "You're looking well."

"And you look exhausted," she says, guiding him into a seat at a nearby table before sitting across from him. "Haven't you been sleeping?"

"Probably not as much as I should be," he answers honestly, knowing she'll call bullshit if he even tries to lie to her. "There's still so much left to do here before we ship out at the end of the month. There's really not a whole lot of time to sleep."

"Leonard, you're no good to anyone else if you're exhausted," she scolds, folding her hands together on the tabletop.

"I tell him that every day," Jim says from behind Leonard, thumping a beer down on the table before throwing his arm around Leonard's shoulder and plopping into the seat beside him. "But does he listen? Nooooo."

"Maybe I'll start listening when you start taking your own advice," Leonard says, poking Jim in the side with one hand and picking up his beer with the other. He almost chokes on his beer when Spock appears behind Nyota and places some kind of orange mixed drink on the table. He sits in the last empty seat left at the table, his hands folded together in his lap.

Jim's arm slips from Leonard's shoulder to his waist and Leonard shifts to accommodate him. He meets Nyota's eye and sees the understanding and the _You, too, huh?_ in her eyes that he knows is reflected in his own.

"So, Spock, when are you finally going to agree to be my first officer?" Jim asks before bringing his beer to his lips.

"As I have previously stated, Captain," Spock begins to say, but Leonard cuts in before an argument can get going.

"Just leave it, Jim," he says, glancing between the two men. "Nagging Spock isn't going to make him agree."

"Doctor McCoy, I assure you that I am more than capable of speaking for myself in this matter," Spock says, and he might think he's all stoic and unemotional, but Leonard can clearly see the bitchiness underneath Spock's façade.

"I have no doubt about that, Spock," Leonard says, "but I'd prefer not to listen to you and Jim arguing all night. Let's all just have a nice, civil drink and make a little small talk, hmm?"

Somehow, miraculously, that's how the rest of the evening goes. No one brings up _Enterprise_ or the fact that Jim's hand has disappeared underneath the hem of Leonard's shirt or that Nyota's fingers are resting over top Spock's. After a while, Nyota starts swaying in her seat to the jukebox music and looks at Leonard with a smile on her face.

Leonard stands and, ignoring Jim's look of confusion, holds a hand out to Nyota. She places her small hand in his and he pulls her to her feet before leading her towards an open area near the jukebox. His hand spans nearly Nyota's entire back as he leads her around the dance floor.

"So, you and Spock?" Leonard asks.

Nyota nods and says, "I know you don't like him, Leonard, but he's a good person."

"You're right," he says. "I don't like him, but I have always respected him. And I respect your decision, but if he ever hurts you, I won't be held responsible for what I might do to him."

Nyota laughs and it's still not the prettiest laugh Leonard's ever heard, but it makes him smile all the same. "The same goes for you and Jim Kirk."

"Works for me," Leonard says, twirling Nyota out and pulling her back in and laughing when Jim wolf-whistles at them. He winks at Nyota and dips her so far back her hair brushes the floor. He catches Jim's eye as he holds Nyota like that for a moment and the look he sees there makes him flush.

When he and Nyota eventually return to their table, Jim stands before Leonard has a chance to sit, wrapping his arm around Leonard's waist and slipping his hand into the back pocket of Leonard's jeans. "Well, I'm beat," Jim says, sounding anything but tired. "What do you say, Bones, wanna make sure I get home okay?"

Jim's already dragged him halfway across the room by the time he finishes speaking. Leonard turns half around as Jim drags him and calls out, "Rom-halan!"

Nyota's laughter follows them out the door and into the balmy night.

Leonard makes a point after that to meet up with Nyota as often as possible. They have lunch a few times and the occasional drink in the evening and, once, Nyota even drags Leonard shopping for furniture and whatnot for her quarters aboard _Enterprise_. Leonard goes away from that trip with a new set of chairs and a sinfully comfortable set of sheets that he has delivered straight to the ship.

Once _Enterprise_ sets out, their duties tend to keep them both fairly busy, but they still have meals together whenever they're both in the mess at the same time. Everyone eventually settles into the new routine, though, and Leonard and Nyota settle into having dinner together, just the two of them, every Tuesday night.

Nyota's birthday rolls around first and Leonard sweet talks Chef into making a raspberry cheesecake and somehow manages to talk Spock into joining in with the rest of the command staff's off-key rendition of "Happy birthday."

Scotty passes around glasses of alcohol of dubious origin. Leonard raises his glass and says, "Here's to the birthday girl. May the coming year be less _exciting_ than the last."

"Here, here," everyone echoes and Nyota smiles, clearly embarrassed but just as clearly touched by the sentiment.

"Thank you, Leonard," Nyota says once she's worked her way through the rest of their friends and to his side.

"It was my pleasure, Nyota," Leonard says, wrapping her up in a hug. He catches Spock giving him the hairy eyeball, but Jim smiles at them and, suddenly, Leonard doesn't know what he'd do without these people and he pulls Nyota a little closer before letting her go. "Just so long as you return the favor when my birthday comes around in a few months."

"I'll try to beat the Captain to it," Nyota promises, her smile just as beautiful as the first time Leonard saw her.

"Sounds like a plan," Leonard says, placing his hand in the center of her back and guiding her back towards the rest of their friends.  



End file.
